Wrapping piles of sheet material



April 11, 1967 5. 5. E. JOHANSSON 3,313,086

WRAPPING FILES OF SHEET MATERIAL Filed Feb. 14, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 v I INVENTOR 680/? 6. 5 JOHA/YJLSO/V BYM /WWV ATTORNEYS.

April 1957 B. G. E. JOHANSSON 3,313,086

WRAPPING FILES OF SHEET MATERIAL Filed Feb. 14, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 3c 3 4 w WXK 3c Q k\\\\ I |NVENTOR 5/90 6. 5 Q/OAQ/WSQV ATTORNEYS.

Patented Apr. 11, 1967 3,313,086 WRAPPING PILES F SHEET MATERIAL Bror Gustav Erland Johansson, Sundbyherg, Sweden, assignor to Ab Nordstroms Linbanor, Stockholm, Sweden Filed Feb. 14, 1964, Ser. No. 344,962 Claims. (Cl. 53-228) Wrapping of sheet-material of large size, such as sheets of paper pulp in piles, is mainly carried out manually. In pulp mills, the pulp sheets arriving from the drying machines are usually stacked in piles, which are then Wrapped with pulp sheets of larger size, said pulp wrappers comprising one top sheet and one bottom sheet. Hitherto, wrapping of the pulp piles with the pulp wrappers, as Well as tying of the pulp bales with wires, has been effected in the packing press. However, improved handling methods have been developed for the purpose of saving labour in the process of packing the pulp piles. The presses now operate with increased compression pressure, which permits the pile of sheets to be removed from the press without substantial expansion .and it is subsequently wrapped and tied in special machines.

The present invention relates to a method of and an automatic device for positioning and folding wrapping material such as sheets of pulp or paper onto a pile of sheet-material, e.g. pulp, said wrapping-sheets being fed underneath and/ or on top of said pulp pile to be wrapped, whereafter at least two opposite edge regions of the wrapping-sheet or wrapping-sheets are folded vertically, snugly against the adjacent vertical faces of the pile. Preferably, said pile together with a lower wrapping-sheet are first lowered down into a lower folding device, whereupon an upper wrapping-sheet is placed on top of the pile and in a second folding step is folded by moving the pile together with said latter wrapping-sheet upwardly into an upper folding device.

The invention also relates to an apparatus for carrying out this process.

One embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention is shown diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of the apparatus with a bottom wrapping-sheet introduced under the pile of sheets to be wrapped;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-section of the apparatus with the folding of the bottom wrapping-sheet in progress;

FIGURE 3 is a side view of the apparatus with a top wrapping-sheet introduced and the bottom wrapping-sheet finally folded;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-section of the apparatus with the folding of the top wrapping-sheet of the pile in progress; and

FIGURE 5 is a cross-section of the apparatus with both the bottom wrapping-sheet and the top wrappingsheet finally folded.

As shown in FIGURE 1, the pile of sheets 1 is conveyed by means of a conveyor 1a, travelling around conveyor rollers 1b, onto a bottom wrapping-sheet 2, supplied between rollers 2a, 2b. The sheets 1 and 2 then pass onto an intermediate conveyor 3a which feeds them onto a vertically displaceable conveyor 3 in a folding apparatus comprising upper and lower folding devices 6, 7. The conveyor 3 is supported by a hydraulically or pneumatically operated piston rod 30. On retraction of said piston rod 30 (FIGURE 2), the conveyor 3 will be lowered between vertical reversible conveyor elements 4 so as to initiate the folding of the bottom wrapping-sheet 2 upwards about the pile 1. When the conveyor 3 has reached its lowermost position the bottom wrapping-sheet 2 is is finally folded (FIGURE 3). In this position, a top wrapping-sheet 5 is fed onto the top of the pile of sheets 1, and a vertically displaceable press-plate 6, disposed above the pile of sheets 1, is lowered against the top wrapping-sheet 5 thus inserted, said plate 6 pressing said sheet 5 tightly against the pile of sheets 1. The conveyor 3 is then elevated, whereby the direction of motion of the conveyors 4 will be reversed, the top wrappingsheet 5 with the pile of sheets 1 being conveyed upwardly between folding elements 7 (FIGURE 4). When the conveyor 3 has reached its uppermost position (FIGURE 5), the press-plate 6 is lifted from the top wrapping-sheet 5. A pile of sheets with opposed folded flaps of the bottom wrapping-sheet 2 and the top wrapping-sheet 5 is now ready, and the conveyor 3 and a subsequent conveyor 3b can now convey the pile of wrapped sheets away from the wrapping apparatus.

The two remaining flaps of the wrapping-sheets 2, 5 can be folded in a suitable manner, for instance in a similar machine, whereafter the bale can be tied in a usual manner.

The method can also be carried out by placing both the bottom wrapping-sheet and the top wrapping-sheet on the pile simultaneously, whereafter the folding of the wrapping-sheets takes place one after the other, possibly by folding the upper sheet first, by way of an upward displacement of the pile. Possibly, also the elements folding the Wrapping-sheets can be displaceable in vertical direction in relation to a pile at rest.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. Apparatus for folding wrapping-sheets about piled sheet-material comprising support means for supporting a pile of sheet-material, means for positioning a first wrapping-sheet in contact with a horizontal face of said pile with at least two opposed edge regions of said first wrapping-sheet extending beyond said pile, first folding means in vertical alignment with said supporting means, and means for effecting vertical movement of said support means relatively to said first folding means to fold said regions about the adjacent vertical sides of the pile, means for positioning a second wrapping-sheet in contact with the other horizontal base of said pile with at least two opposed edge regions of said second wrapping-sheet extending beyond said pile, second folding means in vertical alignment with said support means, and means for effecting vertical movement to said support means relatively to said second folding means to fold said regions against the adjacent vertical surfaces of the pile into overlapping relationship with the corresponding edge regions of said first wrapping-sheet.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, including upper and lower folding devices and means for moving said support means upwards and downwards in relation to said folding devices to fold upper and lower wrappingsheets snugly against the vertical faces of said pile, the lower folding device being provided with two vertical reversible endless belts and the upper folding device being provided with two spaced vertical plates.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by means for feeding a bottom wrapping-sheet under the pile during transport of the pile to the support means and for feeding a top wrapping-sheet onto the top of the pile References Cited by the Examiner when the pile is in its lowered position. UNITED STATES PATENTS 4. Apparatus according to clalm 2, characterized in that above the pile of sheets there is disposed at press- 2,291,645 8/1942 Nordqulst 53-62 plate which is displaceable in vertical direction to hold the 5 2685 ,15 7 8/1954 Doepel at 53-428 top wrapping-sheet on top of the pile during the folding 219961862 8/1961 Johnson et 53-228 of said top wrapping sheet. FQREIGN PATENTS 5. Apparatus according to claim 3, characterized by means for feeding a bottom wrapping-sheet under the fi i g d pile during transport of the pile to the support means and 10 e e an for feeding a top wrapping-sheet onto the top of the pile FRANCIS S HUSAR Primary Examiner when the pile is in its lowered position. I 

1. APPARATUS FOR FOLDING WRAPPING-SHEETS ABOUT PILED SHEET-MATERIAL COMPRISING SUPPORT MEANS FOR SUPPORTING A PILE OF SHEET-MATERIAL, MEANS FOR POSITIONING A FIRST WRAPPING-SHEET IN CONTACT WITH A HORIZONTAL FACE OF SAID PILE WITH AT LEAST TWO OPPOSED EDGE REGIONS OF SAID FIRST WRAPPING-SHEET EXTENDING BEYOND SAID PILE, FIRST FOLDING MEANS IN VERTICAL ALIGNMENT WITH SAID SUPPORTING MEANS, AND MEANS FOR EFFECTING VERTICAL MOVEMENT OF SAID SUPPORT MEANS RELATIVELY TO SAID FIRST FOLDING MEANS TO FOLD SAID REGIONS ABOUT THE ADJACENT VERTICAL SIDES OF THE PILE, MEANS FOR POSITIONING A SECOND WRAPPING-SHEET IN CONTACT WITH THE OTHER HORIZONTAL BASE OF SAID PILE WITH AT LEAST TWO OPPOSED EDGE REGIONS OF SAID SECOND WRAPPING-SHEET EXTENDING BEYOND SAID PILE, SECOND FOLDING MEANS IN VERTICAL ALIGNMENT WITH SAID SUPPORT MEANS, AND MEANS FOR EFFECTING VERTICAL MOVEMENT TO SAID SUPPORT MEANS RELATIVELY TO SAID SECOND FOLDING MEANS TO FOLD SAID REGIONS AGAINST THE ADJACENT VERTICAL SURFACES OF THE PILE INTO OVERLAPPING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CORRESPONDING EDGE REGIONS OF SAID FIRST WRAPPING-SHEET. 